Gandalf's Heart
by Morfiwen
Summary: Did the old Maia or Wizard have a love interest back in Aman? Written for OSA : Gandalf Romance challenge.


**Gandalf's Heart. **

:bouncy: Yay!! I finished the challenge concerning Gandalf's lovelife! As usual, I don't own kaput  being not well off and all, but I like to make free with Tolkien's canon charaters! Heck, nobody minds!

A million thanks to both Elandriel and SpaceWeevil for betaing this fic for me!

So, on with the story…

**-----------------------------------------  
**  
It was a blessed union, one the Valar designed.

Or so it is said, in many ways, by the bards and minstrels of Middle Earth now, merrymaking for all they're worth.

I wonder what Pippin and Merry are up to.

As for now, it is a celebration that none has seen before, nor will see ever after. The pipeweed supplied for me is quite excellent, definitely top notch! Now, where were we?

Not always does a King marry an elf… my mistake… peredhel.

Not Elrond, of course. What were you thinking?

Rarer still does a King from the supposedly broken line of Isildur, King Elessar return after generations of absence; is crowned and married a certain Lady Arwen Undomiel, deemed the fairest of her kind since her ancestor, Lady Luthien Tinuviel.

Or so matters lie.

Well, well. I daresay that ranger from the North is a lucky dog, though Lord Elrond's feelings are quite the opposite.

He has lost his wife, and now his daughter. He will be apt to join the former soon, I presume.

Not mistaking the ruler of Imladris's expression when he gave his daughter's hand over to her future husband, both Gimli and Legolas, showing an unusual mutual agreement over matters had conspired together to distract the bereaved father of the bride.

A traditional drinking game. Not that I'm supposed to know anything about it, of course.

Poor ellon will have much to answer to with his Lady Celebrian afterwards. 

Come to think of it, considering how long it took to finish off my work here, I have a lot to answer to with my own fair lady.

--long moment of silent contemplation--

I do believe I would like to join the game with them. 

---------------------------------------- 

A rather impressive mound of ale mugs were accumulating in front of a rather cross-eyed Gimli. His beard, formerly and tidily braided in the custom of dwarves, was wet from where the ale had dribbled down his chin as he was drinking. Legolas's claim was the number of wine bottles he had emptied; preferring the use of only one wine mug, as was the case with Lord Elrond. The Lord of Rivendell's expression retained a calm, stoic cast, while Legolas sported a stoned look on his face.

The trio looked nigh on their way to oblivion.

"Gambalf," greeted Gimli, holding up an ale mug in salutation, "Naich fah yah ter joiush!" and then he downed the ale greedily.

"Suiliad, Mithrandir, please be seated," said Elrond cordially. He was calm for one holding such grief - too calm. The wine didn't seem to have affected him much, despite the many bottles standing on the table where he sat. Too many for one so calm. "You are going to scold me, aren't you?" he said sheepishly to me.

"The wine is good. You should try some," said Legolas, grossly overlooking the comical remark by a usually proper elven lord.

"No, Elrond, not today, but I daresay I will join you!" nodding to Legolas, I replied cheerfully, startling a serving maid as I poured wine into my own mug and drank it with gusto.

It wasn't long until someone broke out with the notion of singing songs, not unlike a normal bar. The Prancing Pony, now there's a nice place to listen to hobbits...My mind drifted to a certain visage of loveliness that awaits me still in Aman...

_"Once there was a lady, __  
__darned good for a toss in the hay, __  
__turned out her father was a preacher, __  
__and he threw me out in the bay, __  
__lucky I lived to woo her, __  
__and later stole her away!" __  
_  
I gave a silent applause to Gimli for being astute enough to not resort to the lesser and more...revealing versions of those songs.

"You call that a song, mellonin?" asked Legolas, a little tipsy in the eyes despite the perfect elven motor coordination.

Obviously, he began to belt out in a lamentuous song; he is his Ada's son after all. Fortunately it is only the grief has he inherited, not the bitterness.

_  
__"Light were her feet, where flowers sprung, __  
__Long was her hair, wrought of mithril and gold, __  
__Fair was her face, her kindness shone, __  
__Yet dark was her glorious eyes, blue as the sky. __  
__Galadhelen…Ai, maiden fair! __  
__She awaits me in the Blessed Realm_!" for all he's worth, tears shimmering in his eyes and all.

Would you believe that Elrond wept at that point? Elves! I swayed slightly, slopping some wine out of the wine mug as I filled it again, I recalled.

In the same heartbeat a loud snort wafted over to me, "Yuu dun haffa lady. Yer too purdy fer one! Yer haffa elfy boy inschtead!" exclaimed Gimli. After a mug of ale went down his throat yet again he burped loudly, and fell off his chair onto his back on the floor with a thud.

To say that it thundered nasally for a while was an understatement. 

"It's affecting me." First he studied his fingers solemnly, counting up to ten in Sindarin, and then a highly stoned Legolas stayed upright on his chair, eyes wide open. Apparently Gimli's insult on his sexual orientation went right past him. Something about the young ellon tells me his mind is asleep.

Shy of being ridiculously drunk, I decided to show them a thing or two about songs. Hah! Now a White Wizard can really give a song.

_"My bones are old, my life is spent, __  
__correcting wrongdoings of elves and men, __  
__In task in haste, my back is bent __  
__on following the Valar's intent, __  
__yet in my heart Ea formerly sent __  
__my beloved wind-sprite __  
__who reserves my love as her right ___

_Her eyes are grey, as translucent as the wind, __  
__her crown ere white, is cold as winter, __  
__yet her heart, oh, my heart does sing, __  
__and I, poor soul, could do no better, __  
__than to adore her, ah, my beloved, her laughter __  
__it is music Aule himself crafted, gift __  
__to his poor servant, lest my loyalty shift __  
_  
Now where did Elrond go to? He was sitting on that chair, wasn't he? Oh, well.

_I saw her one day, young and alone, __  
__that did more than startle my mind, __  
__then delved I into her thoughts and burned __  
__with desire to seek her kind __  
__yet I found no other, no jewel like her, __  
__in my own arms to me, no place the better ___

_Olorin, named I, in the blessed realm, __  
__Mithrandir, many named me in many tongues, __  
__hurts hinder me, and my steadfast balm, __  
__was the love for me my wind-sprite sung, __  
__she said to me to be true to my tasks __  
__and for that her love I will hold on fast ___

_I saw her last on blessed shore, __  
__bidding me a tearful farewell, __  
__when Durin's bane sent me to death's door __  
__twas' her persuasion that begged me return __  
__If there is a thank to credit me with __  
__'twas for my wind-sprite for being swift ___

_Oh, one day, someday, all said and done, __  
__I will return to your side to remain, __  
__let hell let loose, fugitives on the run, __  
__let Osse pelt me with hail or rain, __  
__nothing shall stand between me and my bride, __  
__to whose fond affection I will abide ___

_Hear ye, hear ye, of my lady belle __  
__hers was greater than the Undomiel..." __  
_  
...and I remembered no more.

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"You plied them too much with wine," said a serving maid accusingly to her friend.

"It was not my intent," the other serving maid protested. "They are guests, and the King's decree was that none, them especially, is to be refused!"

"Then is it not wise to remove it from their reach when they have too much?" the first serving maid replied sarcastically.

"The old man grabbed the flask from my hand!" she hissed back.

"Too late anyway," commented the first maid dryly, as she studied the 'guests' closely. "They're all on their way to heaven, or already there by the looks of it!"

"Their eyes are open," the other maid pointed out, whispering. 

"They're elves, and that old one's a wizard, head of the Wise. Look at the dwarf! This is as close we're going to get of drunken multi-racial company!"

"The golden-haired elf looks wonderfully pretty," sighed the dark-haired maid. "Think he won't mind some companionship?" she grinned cheekily at the sandy-haired maid.

"I'll not hear of such talk, especially not around them!" replied the scandalized maid.

"They're as deep as stone under water, Lily, naught will come of this," giggled the second maid again.

"It still ain't proper, Ela, and furthermore, they're out of our league, if my ears served me right, so get! Clean up this mess, and let them sleep off the drink!"

"Oh, all right. He won't be a sport all drunk like this anyway," grinned Ela cheekily at the face of her disgusted friend, and skittered off to her tasks. 

----------------------------------------------------------- 

It felt warm and cosy, like hobbit holes or sitting in front of fireplaces during winter. I was surprised; does not this habit of excessive drinking come with 'hangovers' that I have discussed with Elrond, or are Maias excluded from this rule?

"Olorin!" A pleasant feeling overwhelmed me.

"Erulisse, my beloved!" How I had yearned to see her like this, to feel her touch, to listen to her laughter, and most of all, to see the curve of her smile.

A small frown marred her features, which is beautiful to me, "You have never let your fea loose like this before, and you know the risks well." Caught red-handed, I must say.

"I, uh, wished only to see you again." Honestly, to say I am 'seeing' her is incorrect, as the meeting of feas in dreams are, best said, only emotions and at times when I exercised less control, such as tonight, I'd be taking conversations where my heart lay.

Erulisse, of course.

"No such thing has happened before. Pray tell what is wrong. Has your hroa failed you again?" Ever tried explaining the concept of getting drunk to a maia of Aman? It's quite...difficult.

"I am gone far too long," I glossed over the facts.

"Olórin." It wasn't a scream, a screech, anything. It was statement enquiring politely with hidden steel. I winced slightly.

"Well, you see..."

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And the mists cleared away to dawn with two noble elves, a powerful maia, and one odd dwarf still in the common room, where they slept off the effects of the night's excessive drinking.

The servants have thoughtfully 'tucked' the guests with warm blankets, a certain golden-haired elf's being the warmest and of fine quality. Gimli's head was placed atop a small cushion as he snored on the floor while Gandalf had a small pillow slid cunningly under his head as he slept, head sideways on the table as well.

Lord Elrond, apparently, defied even the kindest servant's efforts as he lay, without any coverage or soft padding, sprawled on his back---under the table.

FIN.

Erulisse : Grace (Sindharin)

Gandalf's song was written in abcbdd format.

The one sang by Legolas is from my other fic, Legolas's Song. The rest is originally mine as well.

Whaddayathink? Please read, rate & review! (borrowing a certain lady's 3R concept).


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